HOW TO GET BACK ON TRACK?

I honestly do not like the phrase “getting back on track” because I believe it can set us up for failure; it is like we ‘failed’ by falling off the track in the first place. In reality, we probably just had a slip-up or had an off day and that’s okay. We need to learn from it and learn how to come out stronger.

I wanted to preface this thought first to share with you some things that I have been working through lately. What I want to talk about are those times when we get sick or a hard life event happens and we feel derailed. I went through some hard times these past few months and I want to share what I did to bring myself out and get back to my routine. My goal by sharing this story is to hopefully help someone who is struggling to get going or needs to work through some hard times.

On December 14th, 2021 I found out that I was four and a half weeks pregnant. My fiance and I were so excited, just like a lot of you; we started fantasizing about the future. But on January 16th, at nine weeks pregnant, I miscarried. We were and are very sad about this loss but we know in our hearts that this was not meant to be. We are now excited for the day when we do become parents.

I knew that I could not let the sadness keep me from the everyday joys that life brings; I began the healing process by making mini-goals each day. Two weeks into the miscarriage, I started getting sick and found out I had Covid. Which lead me to begin a whole different type of healing process in addition to the miscarriage. I am not sharing this for sympathy or to make light of any situation similar to this. I know everyone goes through hard times and deals with hardship in different ways. However, I wanted to share with you how I started to get back to my normal, after being at such a low. Below are four easy tips to get back on track if you are going through a hard time.

• Make Mini-Goals

Making mini-goals helped me a lot. And YES I kept them supermini. If you know me, I LOVE setting big juicy goals, but I mentally and even physically couldn’t do that during this time. So I made mini-goals, such as getting out of bed a few times a day, drinking a shaker of water a day, cooking one meal, or getting one load of laundry done. Yes, they were super-mini. At any other time in my life, I could probably get all of these done in one day with no problem. But I had to take it slow. After I completed each task or chore I saw that as a win, I would stack these wins! So each day I added something different to add to my stack of wins, more and more until my routine was back to normal. So for instance, once I accomplished some of the tasks above, adding a few things looked like, getting in five minutes of stretching, doing a ten-minute bodyweight workout, or upping my water and drinking three shakers of water a day. All these stacked wins eventually lead me to my regular workout routine.

• Listen to Your Body

Listening to my body was another thing that really helped me. Every day was different and whatever my body felt like that day I did or didn’t do. Of course with stacking my wins, I felt I could do more and more from week to week. There were a few days that I didn’t feel that I could get any workouts in. I also noticed I would get really sore after I did a workout, so I needed to consider my recovery time as well. I decided to listen to what my body was telling me so I could heal at the pace it required. With that being said, I eventually got back to my regular workout routine because I took that time to do what my body needed.

• DO NOT Let Yourself Feel Bad

This was another huge thing. Obviously, I knew I could do more in my regular everyday life, but I made sure to honour myself and my body. I am aware that I went through a lot and it’s okay to take a slower approach because I knew I would feel better soon. I didn’t beat myself up for not being the person I am on a regular basis. I was going through heartbreak and illness all at once, and sometimes the strongest thing one can do is take it easy without guilt. If I would have let myself feel bad for not feeling up to “getting back on track”, I may not have healed as well or as quickly.

• Accountability Partner

Whatever/whoever you have for your support, make sure you have someone to talk to. My family and fiance’s support were amazing throughout this time. My Facebook group with all my clients was absolutely amazing as well:) Most of the ladies in this group are busy moms looking to improve their health and fitness, which was great because their goals are aligned with mine! They are all looking at bettering themselves. The support system was so helpful to have.

I would love to say that I hope no one ever experiences what I went through or have lows, but in reality, it does happen. I truly feel that moments like these do help us become a stronger and better version of ourselves. It may be hard at the moment, but hopefully, these tips will help you move through the hardships. Remember that support can come in various forms and from many different people. Some struggles may require a professional on your side. I want to stress that what I did are tips that helped me. If you ever feel like you need more help, there are many wonderful support options beyond friends and family. Regardless, I hope that if you ever feel like you are in a situation where you have been knocked off track, believe that there is joy on the other side and it is okay to take things slow. You will come back stronger than ever!

Photo By: David Ford